Delta40 Energy & Mobility Innovation Program

We are excited to announce our Delta40 Energy & Mobility Innovation Program for scientific and technical founders across Africa, supported by the Lemelson Foundation. This program will provide unique venture studio support and innovation grants to all its participants to drive needle-moving innovations that scale across the continent and impact customers, employees, investors, and corporates at scale. Designed with valuable insights from founders, investors, and successful innovation programs, our goal with this program is to turn energy and mobility innovations into commercial businesses, empower exceptional founders, and bridge critical gaps in technology, capital, support, and expertise. In line with Delta40s’ mission, 50% of participants in this program will be women. The program will culminate in a scale summit bringing together the most important actors in the energy and mobility space globally, including scaled ventures, investors, policy makers and ecosystem actors.

The Delta 40 Difference

This isn’t a typical accelerator. In this program, bold ideas meet the resources, expertise, and networks they need to thrive. We don’t just invest in ventures; we build alongside our founders, leveraging a team of seasoned entrepreneurs and operators who have built companies on the continent. This means that in addition to the typical features of an innovation program, participants will benefit from:

01. Execution Support for innovation design, testing, & commercialization from a team of experienced entrepreneurs and business leaders with deep energy expertise in Africa, such as Lyndsay Handler (Fmr. CEO of Fenix (Exited to Engie), Stanford, Partner Factor[e]/Equator), Jay Ireland (former CEO of GE Africa and Mastercard Foundation Board member), Bankole Cardoso (Carlyle Group, Jumia, Easy Taxi, Fenix, Factor[e]), Brian Warshawsky (Fenix, Apple), Nicholas Quintong (PayGO (Exited to SunKing), GE), Carol Koech among others (Director Schneider Electric, Ex GE) 

02. Equity and Innovation Grants with Delta40 and other co-investors. Participants will be encouraged to explore innovative ideas with minimal financial exposure. 

03. Access to a Curated Ecosystem –– Delta40’s highly curated events bring together founders, operators, academics, investors, and funders designed to spark meaningful relationships, unlock synergies, and create tangible opportunities for growth and scale. 

04. Strong Community of technical Founders across Africa that will share insights, pilot technologies, co-develop solutions, and provide peer support to tackle industry-specific challenges including regulatory hurdles, technology adoption and new market entry. 

05. Energy & Mobility Scale summit where the selected ventures will have an opportunity to pitch to a curated group of leading entrepreneurs, investors, corporates and other key ecosystem leaders for the purpose of catalyzing innovation and investment in the energy and mobility sector in Africa. 

Team Requirements 

• We’re seeking teams with 2 co-founders – with at least 1 technical or scientific founder and 1 commercial founder. Preference will be given to teams with both Founders in place. 

     -If you’re an exceptional solo technical founder, you can apply and we will support a select number to find a commercial Co-Founder  

• Ventures should be between idea to pre-seed stage 

Our final selection will be a curated group of a maximum of 12 ventures 

Time Commitment 

• Founders will dedicate at least 10 hours per week to the program. 

  -3 hours per week will be in-person sessions held late afternoons 

   -The remaining time is focused on advancing your venture with Delta40’s guidance. 

• The program includes a one-week in-person kickoff in Kenya and a one-week conclusion in Nigeria, providing participants with immersive experiences to build connections, refine strategies, and prepare for scaling their ventures. 

Sector Focus

The 10-month Energy & Mobility Innovation Program is centered around addressing critical gaps in energy access and mobility. Our focus is on driving economic development, improving quality of life, and achieving large-scale planetary impact. 

We have an overarching focus on achieving M300––making energy available to 300 million people by 2030. Our goal is to transition solutions from decentralized to centralized energy systems while ensuring scalability and sustainability for maximum impact. This program is built to support ventures that have the potential to transform the energy and mobility sectors, contributing to the realization of this vision. We’re focused on catalyzing and supporting ventures that align with the following sub-sectors:

• Clean Energy Access including Grid, Mini-Grid, and Off-Grid Solar Innovations; and Productive Use of Electricity: Innovations that expand clean energy access and enable productive use which includes those scale off-grid energy solutions, grid reliability and affordability, and mini-grid models. 

• Clean Cooking Solutions: Cooking in Africa is one of the most energy-intensive activities, often relying on harmful, polluting fuels, and we’re looking for solutions that can transition households to cleaner and sustainable practices to improve health and reduce environmental impact.  

• E-Mobility Innovations: Innovations that decarbonize transport systems, enhance accessibility, and address the unique mobility challenges. We are interested in ventures developing electric vehicles, battery-swapping solutions, electric charging and innovation financing solutions to unlock mobility. 

• Data & AI to Advance Energy Access and Finance: Data and AI play a vital role in accelerating energy access, increasing financial inclusion and cost down  – tools to optimize energy production and distribution, lowering operating costs and creating smarter financing solutions etc. 

Program Offerings

Venture Design & Leadership: Programming centered on entrepreneurial readiness, transformational leadership, and business strategy.

Access to Capital: Opportunities to pitch for feasibility study grants, studio investments ($25K–$250K), and additional co-investor funding. 

Shared Services: Access to office space and Delta40’s venture studio support tools for product design, HR, operations, and growth strategy

Masterclasses led by Entrepreneurs and Operators: Immersive workshops designed to accelerate problem discovery, customer validation, and business model innovation. These sessions include applied content and masterclasses led by experienced entrepreneurs & operators directly aligned with each venture’s growth trajectory and challenges.

Founder Support & Talks: Gain insights from entrepreneurs who have successfully built and exited companies, as they share candid stories and learnings from their entrepreneurial journeys.

Strategy Sessions: One-on-one sessions with Delta40 CXOs, advisors, and industry experts, offering personalized guidance to refine strategies, tackle key challenges, and scale effectively.

Community: Become part of Delta40’s robust ecosystem, with access to a network of investors, mentors, and global advisors. This community is designed to help founders unlock funding, build strategic partnerships, and leverage collective wisdom for growth.

Ready to take your venture to the next level? Join us and make it happen! 

Questions? Please email us at prithika@delta40.com

The application form is divided into the following sections, each designed to capture key aspects of your profile, venture, and vision for innovation.